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again, i agree with dave. most people would find that the gesshin might be the better choice for their only coarse stone. now that ive been doing sharpening for a lot of people, i found that having both is a necessity. i agree with the hiro working better on the beston. i haven't tried any coarse stone so my opinions are based only on these two. maybe a pink brink could be in the cards for me soon. anyway, ive had one beston and its got maybe 1/4 life left. it doesn't dish much at all but since ive gotten the gesshin, it doesn't see as much work as it used to and when it does, it has more of a repair role. the gesshin for me acts more as a refining coarse stone if that makes sense. it can (and does) set bevels for me but because i like it so much, i want it to last longer so for that i use the beston.

also i would like to add that the gesshin 400 and 4k are the best combo ive found to date. i have gone the route of only 2 stones these days and i haven't found a better combo. the beston and rika do okay and some knives do well with it (mac superior and hiro AS come to mind) but all my personal knives get the gesshin lineup. if you already have a 4k, i would fully recommend picking yourself up a 400. dont forget to tell us what you think

It's like my ol' grandpappy used to say; "The less one makes declarative statements, the less apt he is to look a fool in retrospect"

they are very different stones (and made by different people)... the 5k is a splash and go stone... its not the fastest cutter, but it is the best stone i have in my lineup for cleaning up an edge (reducing the burr/ removing the wire edge). The 4k is a different beast all together... its fast, agressive, has great feedback, and leaves a nice edge. It can be a bit more difficult to get a super clean edge off of the 4k (just off of the stone... not including felt, cork, newspaper, etc) because of how fast it cuts.

I also have a 6k that is splash and go... its much faster than the 5k, so i use that sometimes to finish.

i do go straight from the 400 to 4k and ive given a lot of thought to picking up a 2k but im worried that adding a third stone will take away some of that toothiness that i like in a pro setting and make the edge too refined for what im trying to do. there are plenty of times that i incorporate other stones between and after those two but for the most part, i just stick with a two stone setup. my yanagi gets the kitayama finish though

It's like my ol' grandpappy used to say; "The less one makes declarative statements, the less apt he is to look a fool in retrospect"